Survey says 67% are OK if companies make remote working mandatory

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Commuters wearing masks pass through Penn Station, Monday, March 23, 2020 in New York. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has ordered most New Yorkers to stay home from work to slow the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

As many Californians have unexpectedly found themselves working from home due to the statewide shelter in place edict that’s part of the effort to control the spread of coronavirus, the practice of working remotely is having an impact on employees that could last beyond the end of the current worldwide pandemic.

That’s the conclusion from a Harris Poll survey of almost 1,000 American adult workers conducted for Marin-based job information and recruiting site Glassdoor. The survey, which focused on how employees felt about working from home, showed that many workers have a lack of confidence in how their employers have responded to the coronavirus crisis.

According to Glassdoor, almost 30% of all respondents said their companies have done nothing to address their concerns about the coronavirus outbreak. Glassdoor said it appeared that a person’s earnings had an impact on the level of action they think their employers have taken with regards to coronavirus. The Glassdoor survey found that 42% of workers who earn less than $50,000 a year, but only 19% of those who make $100,000 or more annually say that they have either heard nothing or seen no action taken by they employers because of the coronavirus outbreak.

The survey also found that when it comes to employers offering additional paid sick leave for workers in response to the coronavirus pandemic, only 16% of companies offered such a perk to their workers.

Whether or not employers will keep their remote policies in place as an option as the coronavirus crisis continues for weeks or months remains to be seen. But, employees on the whole have quickly embraced the concept of working from home, with Glassdoor finding that 67% of respondents were in favor of working remotely indefinitely, if their companies made such a policy mandatory. The survey also showed that 60% of employees said they were confident they can efficiently do their job remotely if their companies instituted mandatory work-from-home standards.

Other findings included 50% of respondents saying they believe they can be equally productive working from home as they would be in an office, and 71% of workers with children under the age of 18 saying they believe they can efficiently do their jobs, even with their kids being at home.